Bonneville America Forums Forums General Motorcycle Forums Other Bikes About Scramblers?

I sell Real Estate in rural northern Nevada, and currently use a Yamaha TW-200 as a work vehicle. It gets me into those places that I need to go off the highway, and works well around town, but is very anemic on the two major highways that run through the area, where the traffic cruises at 70 to 75 depending upon the price of gas. I am looking for something more road friendly yet able to handle rougly gravled roads with some stretches of sand to replace the little TW.

I also have the idea kicking around in the back of my head to take a trip to Alaska, and would consider using the bike for that as well.

I would appreciate your honest opinions about the using a scrambler for work and for an Alaska trip.

I dont have one, but I would love a Triumph Scrambler. Same power plant we have, but 360 firing order, so plenty of power, and good size bike for tooling around town, and probably very stable in the bush. I do have a Honda Scrambler, but its way small (175cc) and kind of old (1971)

The Scrambler has a 270 degree cramk, same basic engine as the America/SM.

oops, I didnt know

Plus it has the same suspension as the America, so off roading will probably be limited to hard pack.

I think it fits the bill since he isn't talking about woopties or jumps just back roads that may be somewhat rough.

Get a Tiger!

I'd say no to the Scrambler and frankly don't think Triumph makes a bike that currently fits your bill. I ride a Tiger, and I plan to ride it to Alaska, but I'm not gonna stray far from the AlCan. Certainly wouldn't take it off into the Provincial parks for back country camping like I did with my Bronco.

I'd say look at the BMW F800 GS. If that's too steep, take a look at the KLR650.

KTM 690 Enduro, or if you can find a used one, the 990 Super Enduro.

Both great bikes. I've ridden the 990 and it is to the dirt what my tiger is the street. Unparalleled. Also really fun riding up the steps of the Baltimore Museum of Art, um, I've heard.

If you need better suspension, try one of these:
Suzuki DR650SE

Thanks for the responses. The_Dog33 is correct about the riding conditions I face. If I want to go where it's rough, I'm certainly not going on a bike. I have a Grizzly that I use in the REAL back country. It carries the spare fuel, emergency gear, and WATER that you can't fit on a bike. I am looking for something to use on pavement, gravel, and hard packed roads for when I have to run out to take a quick look at the property, or to locate corners with a GPS. To use the Grizzly, I have to go home, load it in the truck, drive to the trailhead, unload it, do my chores, then reload it, drive back home, unload it, then drive back to the office.

I've considered both the KLR and DR 650s, but I am limited due to a 27" inseam. The DR could be lowered enough to be useful, but I currently ride a thumper (a Savage), and I am looking for something a little smoother.

How about a 2008 or later Yamaha XT250? If you don't need to go faster than say 70 MPH that might do it. Top speed under optimal conditions is like 75 MPH. It's a total redesign over the old XT225 & much improved at that. And enough of an improvement over your 200 to consider.

Another option is a lowered DL-650 Wee-Strom with some off-road upgrades.

Pop across to Triumphtalk.com and ask there.
There are a couple of scrambler owners there that will give you first hand advice.

Thanks, Devo.

I'll try that as well. I'm still interested in the America as replacement for the Savage after I wear it out, so I'll hang around and gather information.

if your talking pavement, gravel and hard pack, then the Scrambler is just what you want!!! i have a friend that rides one on just those conditions and he loves it !!! sez he couldnt have picked a better bike for where he go's. much like you he mostly uses it to run to sites for his work and he has even found himself in some pretty nasty mud situations and told me it did just fine, wished he had other tires for that but he got out ok. for the most part, he is on gravel and hard pack and sez its perfect. will run 80 all day and handles off road just fine.

A few months back I was at my local Triumph dealer, and while I was there this Belgian dude rode up on a '06 Scrambler that was caked with dried mud all over it. It had a whole passel of those "McQueen World Trials Races" Triumph accessories on it, along with a couple of those metal "Ammo Box-type" saddlebags you often see on Beemer GS bikes, and a GPS bolted to the handlebars. It had the look as if it had been ridden around the world.

Turns out this guy has been all over the U.S. on his Scrambler this year touring the country. I walked over to take a look at his odometer and it read 36,000 miles.

(not bad for a two year old machine, huh?!)

It's a long thread but substantially on point to your questions... ADV Scrambler Thread

That's a site that I no longer frequent. Their concept of merging hundreds of posts on various subjects into one long thread makes the search feature (and the site) pretty worthless when compared to a more conventionally-arranged site. From their response to my comments, they appear to believe that everyone is out of step except their little Johnny.

Yup. The structure is far from optimal, but that doesn't invalidate the gems contained within. You can choose to avoid it, however there is plenty of good info to be had from that thread. I suggest starting at the end & work back. You asked, I provided a relevant source for an answer, the choice to read it or not is yours.

I have to say I really like the colour choices on the new 2009 Scramblers, very mean looking.